Comparisons
Instawork vs your own temp workforce: the marketplace tradeoff
Instawork is a marketplace where a business posts shifts to Instawork's worker network. Your own temp workforce is the roster your agency recruits, employs, confirms, and sends to clients. The marketplace can add reach for a local surge; your own roster preserves the worker relationship, repeat crews, client knowledge, and agency margin.
Do not compare the two using a made-up universal markup or no-show rate. Instawork says its bill rate combines worker pay with a markup that varies by shift, volume, role, and location. Compare the actual quote with your own wage, payroll burden, insurance, recruiting, coordination, and uncovered-shift costs.
What are you actually buying from Instawork?
Instawork lets a business post hourly shifts to workers in its network. Its current pricing help says the business chooses an all-inclusive hourly bill rate containing worker pay and a percentage markup. The markup varies by shift type, volume, position, location, and other factors, so a fixed percentage copied from an old article is not a reliable current quote.
Instawork currently markets warehouse and logistics, manufacturing, food and beverage, retail, cleaning, and event work in the United States and Canada. Its public pages report platform-level fill and no-show figures. Those are Instawork's own marketplace results, not an average for Canadian temp agencies and not a promise for a particular city, role, or shift.
When does a marketplace make sense?
- A business needs short-notice workers in a city where the marketplace already has enough qualified people.
- The requirement is a one-off surge rather than a recurring client roster.
- The business wants one combined hourly bill rate and is comfortable sourcing workers through an external network.
- The actual quote compares favourably after the buyer includes its real recruiting, payroll, insurance, and coordination costs.
When is your own roster the stronger asset?
- The same warehouse, food plant, or assembly line needs a dependable crew every week.
- Client-specific orientation, receiving-employer equipment authorization, plant or task modules, and site restrictions decide who can be sent.
- The agency wants to keep the worker relationship and learn who returns, confirms, and performs well at each site.
- The agency's margin comes from filling client orders, not buying labour from another platform.
How should an agency compare the real cost?
| Question | Instawork marketplace | Your agency roster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | The current quoted bill rate for the exact role, city, and shift | Wage plus actual payroll burden, insurance, recruiting, and coordination |
| Worker relationship | The worker participates through Instawork's network | The worker is recruited, employed, and retained by your agency |
| Repeat-site knowledge | Check the profiles and workers available for that posting | Measure return rate and performance by client and worksite |
| Credential fit | Verify the platform's screening against the client's exact requirement | Gate dispatch on the role, equipment class, card, and site orientation |
| Reliability | Use the result for your own postings, not a platform-wide headline | Use your own confirmations, late withdrawals, late starts, and no-shows |
Can you hire a worker you first met through Instawork?
Yes, subject to Instawork's current direct-hire terms or any separate agreement you have with it. Its help centre says the standard direct-hire fee is $2,500, falls to $1,000 after the worker completes at least 320 hours with the business through Instawork, and is waived after at least 480 hours. Check the live terms before deciding.
Common questions
Does Instawork publish one fixed markup?
No. Instawork's current business-pricing help says its percentage markup varies by shift type, shift volume, position, location, and other factors. The useful comparison is the live all-inclusive bill rate shown for your exact posting, not a percentage copied from an older page.
Is Instawork available everywhere in Canada?
Instawork says it operates in more than 60 cities across the United States and Canada and publishes local pages for Toronto and Vancouver. Availability and worker depth vary by market, so enter the exact role, location, and shift before treating the marketplace as usable capacity.
Does Instawork's reported no-show figure apply to my agency?
No. It is a company-reported result for Instawork's marketplace, not a Canadian staffing-industry benchmark and not a forecast for your own crew. Measure your agency's confirmed shifts, late withdrawals, late starts, and uncovered shifts by client and worksite instead.
Can an agency use a marketplace only for overflow?
It can, if its client agreement permits it and the worker meets every site and role requirement. Compare the live marketplace quote, verify who employs and insures the worker, confirm credential evidence, and decide who owns the client communication before using it as overflow.
Does Kordis supply workers?
No. Kordis operates the roster your staffing agency already owns. It screens applicants, gathers onboarding records, runs confirmations, stages qualified cover, and prepares hours for payroll. If you need an external worker pool, that is a marketplace or recruiting decision outside Kordis.
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